Top Ten - Emily Machin

Next up in the top ten series is the lovely Emily Machin, she's always so vibrant and smiling; her focus is more on skincare than make up as she likes to let her natural beauty shine through which you can see clearly works for her. Although I have lured the girl into a few make up purchases since I met her!!

1. Tea Tree Face Mask from The Body Shop, it costs £10 and lasts a long time I've had mine a  few months and it's still going strong. You can get this from the Body Shop in store or on-line. It's a face mask to get rid of spots - Bright green, smells strongly of tea tree (which I like), matt finish when dried on skin. It actually gets rid of spots without majorly drying out your skin. I use it as a face mask once a week, then occasionally apply a small amount on spots to leave overnight in order to reduce the size of the spot/bring it out to get rid of it.

2. Revlon ColorBurst Lacquer Balm, they're £7.99 and doesn’t need constant re-application, it also doesn’t dry lips out. You can get these at Boots online or in store, Superdrug, I've even been in and bought it in another colour.I like these because I’m not experienced with lipstick, so this is pretty safe and idiot proof! I have it in Whimsical and Provocateur, they have a shiny, slightly glittery finish, a slightly minty taste, and makes your lips tingle when first applied. I like it because it stays on your lips for a good few hours without re-application, you don’t have to be too careful about eating and drinking and worry about it fading. I normally re-apply once, maybe twice during the day/evening when I’m wearing it.

3. Maybelline Foundation Dream Pure BB Cream , £6.99 from Boots, Superdrug etc.

This is a BB cream - I’ve never used foundation as I was worried about getting more spots due to clogged pores. This doesn’t clog your pores as it’s light when applied and blends well, I have it in Light as I have fair skin. It contains salicylic acid which, as recommended by a friend, helps to reduce irritation on your skin caused by spots. So whilst the BB cream is covering your spots, it’s helping them to go down too. My face feels soft all day when I have been wearing this BB cream.

I like it because it doesn’t feel like my pores are being clogged, and as far as I’m aware, it hasn’t caused me to have any extra spots! It doesn’t need re-application during the day. However, it does smell a bit strange on your face when first applied - I think this may be due to the SPF quality in it, as the smell reminds me vaguely of sun cream.

4. Vitamin E Overnight Serum-in-Oil from The Body Shop at £12, it is a little pricey for what such a little bottle, but it works well so I don’t mind paying that. This is an oil, which sounds weird to put on your face, especially if your face is oil like mine, but it sinks in well and moisturises your face overnight, leaving your skin feeling soft and refreshed in the morning. It has a smell characteristic of all Vitamin E products from The Body Shop (as with another product I will mention later) but it isn’t an offensive smell. I like it because it does what it says it does - it moisturises your face overnight and leaves it feeling soft in the morning and not oily!

5. Vaseline Lip Therapy with Aloe Vera, £1.99 - it’s definitely gone up in price since  I first bought it, but I think it’s brilliant so I don’t mind paying for it. I’ve lost count of how many tins of this I’ve bought over the years. It’s petroleum jelly, and you apply it to your lips as often as needed. It really helps in the winter when the elements are against you. I can’t use some of the other vaseline flavours as they are too scented or contain nut oil (which I am allergic too) so I just stick with aloe vera as it smells nice and works well for me. I like it because it has helped many a time when I’ve been suffering from dry lips, whether it’s in the winter or due to my job, where I work with a lot of harsh chemicals and materials that can dry your skin out (that’s not to say I eat or drink any of these materials, but being in their general environment isn’t good for dry skin!) You do have to be aware when applying vaseline though that you don’t over apply, as it will leave you looking shiny, and it is oily so it can stain clothes if you have too much on your fingers. I would swear by this product, I have been using it for so long!

6. Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter £7.99, I've had this for 2 months and I bought two at the same time as they were on 2 for £10! It looks a bit like a lipstick, but I don’t deal well with lipstick, so this is a step up from a crayon in application for me! It is moisturising and lasts quite a while, not as long as the lip crayon from Revlon, but still longer than some other products that I use. I have it in Sweet Tart and Candy Apple. It leaves a slight shiny finish, but not greasy, and smells slightly sweet which is pleasant. I like using it because it moisturises whilst you’re wearing it, and depending on what shade you’re wearing, gives a more subtle hint of colour to our lips compared to the lip crayon.

7. Tea Tree Concealer from The Body Shop -£7. It is a concealer stick, rather than standard liquid foundation, and you apply as and when you need it, to more specific areas of your face that require attention. It comes in two shades, I have 01 Light, and it blends well to my skin tone, but it does require proper blending or you are left with orange-looking smudges on your face! It does smell of tea tree, but not as strong as the face mask. I like it as I can use it alongside my other products, or rather than, if I only need to cover up one or two spots. Also, it doesn’t dry out the skin on your face, but helps draw out spots and reduce redness with the addition of the tea tree.

8. Aesop Control Anti-Blemish Gel, at £15 it is pricey for such a small tube (only 9ml) but it works for me so I don’t begrudge paying the price. I bought it from Beauty Expert online, but there are Aesop shops in London and some other large cities and other online stores sell it. It is a clear gel that you can wear with your make-up, or just on its own. It smells fragrant, and contains ingredients such as tea tree, aloe vera, salicylic acid and niacinamide. The salicylic acid helps get rid of spots with the tea tree, and the aloe and niacinamide soothe the skin and reduce inflammation. You don’t need much of this product on your skin. I like it as it has helped reduce some spots that I have had. You can feel it working as it soothes raised and inflamed skin almost immediately. It works with make-up as it’s clear. You do have to wait a minute or so to apply on other make-up as it has a habit of mixing with things like BB cream and making a slightly creamy mixture on your face.

9. Avon Glimmersticks Eyeliner for £6, I've used this for 5 years+ and I’ve re-purchased these a lot. I got it from my Avon representative at the time, however recently I bought it from the Avon website avonshop.co.uk. It is an eyeliner that you DON’T sharpen, it’s a roll up one. I have it in Blackest Black and Sugar Plum (which is from the Diamonds range). It goes on like a normal eyeliner and wears very well throughout the day/evening. It doesn’t look greasy when applied or when it is worn. I like it because it actually stays on and doesn’t leave horrible black lines on the top of your eyelids (unless you apply lots!), there’s no risk of getting shavings in your eye from sharpening the pencil, and it doesn’t snap off half way through application! I would recommend this, as it took me ages to find an eyeliner that does what I want.

10. Super Volume Mascara The Body Shop -£10. This is a mascara aimed at lengthening the look of your lashes. I have it in Black. It doesn’t clump on your eyelashes, it does actually lengthen them, especially if you have pale eyelashes like myself, it’s easy to get off and it doesn’t smudge much if you rub your eyes by accident. I like it mainly because it makes my eyelashes look longer, darker and fuller without the spider effect that a lot of people seem to be going for. Also, it doesn’t clump my eyelashes together to make them feel heavy, or leave big black lumps of mascara on the tips of my eyelashes.